THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



is not sufficient room for her body to pass, and that 

 she will therefore make a rustling sound if she 

 persists in her advance, and so alarm her prey. 

 These soft hairs on the cat's face are quite adequate 

 for her purpose, because she hunts on land and 

 hates wet. Soaked with water the soft hairs would 

 droop and prove useless, and so it is for this reason 

 that the otter's " whiskers " have gradually 

 developed until now they are strong and stiff 

 in order to withstand the exigencies of frequent 

 underwater journeys. They are used, too, in a 

 rather different way, for although while on land 

 they may aid the otter to make a quiet approach 

 on prey, their chief purpose is for locating 

 food — in the shape of frogs, fish, etc. — either 

 beneath stones, or on the bottom of the river- 

 bed. The long hairs on the otter's upper-lip 

 are susceptible of considerable movement, for their 

 development has been followed by that of the 

 muscles beneath, which give the puffy appearance 

 to the otter's face. Provided with perfect inter- 

 digital webs on all four feet, the otter when 



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